Reducing the Budget Deficit by Limiting Tax Evasion

Abstract

The topic of tax evasion is of crucial importance in the current economic and legal context, having a significant impact on the state's tax revenues. Every taxpayer naturally wants to keep as much of his income as possible or to "protect" his taxable income from taxation. Wherever there have been taxes or mandatory contributions, there have also been attempts to circumvent them. The premise of avoiding the payment of tax, fee or contribution without being sanctioned by law as a crime is the taxpayer's fiscal ability, aided by the imperfection of tax laws. This means that that taxpayer uses the existing regulatory framework in the sense of intelligently capitalizing on inconsistencies, contradictions or equivocation of certain legal provisions, tax inequity, in order to avoid legal tax obligations. Depending on the severity, tax evasion can be classified as a simple illegality or a criminal offense. However, regardless of the legal framework, its consequences for the economy and society in general are always negative. These include the depletion of public funds, the distortion of fair competition, and the undermining of trust in the tax system and the state.